Methodism was first introduced into Luzerne County in about 1787. Meetings were held in homes and shops. By 1800, monthly meetings were held in Providence. he first meetinghouse was erected in 1828 in Carbondale. Most early preaching was done by traveling circuit-riding ministers. Later congregations were found in Hanover, Newport and the Plains. <ref>Horace Hollister,''History of the Lackawanna Valley.'' (New York: C. A. Alvord, 1869), 322-326. {{FSbook|185842}} Free online digital copy}}</ref>

Methodism was first introduced into Luzerne County in about 1787. Meetings were held in homes and shops. By 1800, monthly meetings were held in Providence. he first meetinghouse was erected in 1828 in Carbondale. Most early preaching was done by traveling circuit-riding ministers. Later congregations were found in Hanover, Newport and the Plains. <ref>Horace Hollister,''History of the Lackawanna Valley.'' (New York: C. A. Alvord, 1869), 322-326. {{FSbook|185842}} Free online digital copy}}</ref>

+

In the 1840's the Methodist congregation built a church in Scranton. This building was used every other week for Methodist services and for various other congregations the other weeks.

*Primitive Methodist Church, Taylor, Pennsylvania, most records before 1936 were destroyed. See [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~palackaw/churches/church3.html History] for more information about this church.<br><br>

*Primitive Methodist Church, Taylor, Pennsylvania, most records before 1936 were destroyed. See [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~palackaw/churches/church3.html History] for more information about this church.<br><br>

Census

There are no county or state census records available for Pennsylvania. County and city tax records can be used as a substitute when census records are not available.

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. In Pennsylvania, church records are often used as a substitute for birth, marriage, and death information. For general information about Pennsylvania denominations, view the Pennsylvania Church Records wiki page.

Finding Church Records at Other Repositories

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy Church Records in online catalogs like:

Lutheran

Methodist

Methodism was first introduced into Luzerne County in about 1787. Meetings were held in homes and shops. By 1800, monthly meetings were held in Providence. he first meetinghouse was erected in 1828 in Carbondale. Most early preaching was done by traveling circuit-riding ministers. Later congregations were found in Hanover, Newport and the Plains. [3]

In the 1840's the Methodist congregation built a church in Scranton. This building was used every other week for Methodist services and for various other congregations the other weeks.

Primitive Methodist Church, Taylor, Pennsylvania, most records before 1936 were destroyed. See History for more information about this church.

Presbyterian

Court Records

Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy court records are housed at the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy Courthouse. For many counties copies of court records may be found at the Pennsylvania State Archives and in the FamilySearch collection. Note that within these collections some films may contain the same records, but have different titles. Other titles are not duplicates. See Finding Court Records at other repositories within this section for links to the online catalogs for these two collections. Films at the Pennsylvania State Archives are not available for inter-library loan. If court records are available FamilySearch films may be ordered at a local Family History Center.

Court of Common Pleas

The Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of Pennsylvania. Major civil and criminal cases are heard in these courts. Judges also decide cases involving adoption, divorce, child custody, abuse, juvenile delinquency, estates, guardianships, charitable organizations and many other matters. The Common Pleas courts are organized into 60 judicial districts. Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy County has its own judicial district. Judges of the Common Pleas courts are elected to 10-year terms. A president judge and a court administrator serve in each judicial district.[4]

Clerk of the Court

The Clerk of Courts prepares and maintains the records for the Criminal Division of the Court of Common Pleas. The Clerk signs and affixes the Seal of the Courts to all writs and processes, administers oaths and affirmations, and assumes custody of the seal and records of the Courts. The Clerk certifies and distributes orders of the Court. The Clerk also certifies and prepares bills of costs for the defendants and utilizes the computerized financial management system to disburse fines, costs and restitution.[5] For the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy Clerk of Courts address see the Courthouse section on this page.

Prothonotary

The office of the Prothontary is the custodian of all civil matters in the county. This includes naturalization, immigration, equity actions, judgements, federal and local tax leins, city liens, family court, arbitrations, license suspension appeals, appeals to higher court, commercial code filings, applications for passports and divorce proceedings. See the Courthouse section on this page for the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy Prothonotary office information.

Land and Property

Land records in Lackawanna County began in 1878. These records are filed with the Recorder of Deeds office in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts, indexes, mortgages, leases, grants, sheriff sales, land patents, and maps. Property records include liens as well as livestock brands and estray records.

The following are examples of available resources:

Online Land Records

The Recorder of Deeds offers online access to land records. Log in is required. (IQS Lackawanna County web access technical support 800-320-2617.)

Merrifield, Edward. "The Territory of Scranton Immediately Prior to the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co. Purchase." Lackawanna Institute of History and Science. Historical series, no. 4. Scranton, 1896. Digital version at Internet Archive. At various libraries (WorldCat)

Additional Resources

See Pennsylvania Land and Property for more information about using land records, especially about original land warrants, surveys, and patents filed at the state land office.

Additional resources can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Lackawanna County Pennsylvania Land in online catalogs such as:

Maps

Click the image to see an enlarged version

Migration

Military

Naturalization and Citizenship

Naturalization records can contain information about immigration and nativity. Prior to 1906, it is rare to find the town of origin in naturalization records. See Pennsylvania Naturalization for more information about the types of records and availability.

Naturalizations granted at the county level were kept by the office of the Prothonotary. Naturalizations could also be granted on the Federal Court level.

Naturalization records available for Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania include the following:

Obituaries

Obituaries are generally found in local newspapers where the person died. However, sometimes an obituary is found in the location from which he or she originated. To find an obituary, see the information under the Newspaper heading

Sometimes the fastest way of finding obituaries is to call or email the local public library in the area where the person died. If the library does not have newspapers, a librarian often will know where they are kept. If a death date is known, and the newspapers are at the library, someone on staff will usually make a search for a small fee, or will indicate someone who will do the search.

Occupations

Periodicals

Poorhouse, Almshouse

Probate Records

Probate matters in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy are handled by the Orphans' Court and start when the county was created. To obtain original probate records, contact the Orphan's Court in the County Courthouse.

In addition to wills and administrations, the Orphans' Court also handles: audits of accounts of executors, administrators, trustees, and guardians; distribution of estates of decedents, incompetents, and minors; appointment and control of guardians; adoptions; appeals from the Register of Wills involving probate matters; inheritance tax appeals and various petitions and motions.

Online Probate Records

Original probate records for some Pennsylvania counties are available free online as digital images at FamilySearch.org. The dates vary significantly for each county and not all counties are listed. Some counties may only have probate indexes. This Pennsylvania collection of images may be browsed through the links listed below:

Repositories

Archives

The Pennsylvania Archives collection contains county archive records that can be searched onsite. Currently the Archives' staff cannot provide research or make copies of these records. Their collections include Almshouse Registers; Tax records; Birth, Death and Marriage Indexes and Records; Midwife records; African American records; Wills; Deeds; Naturalizations; Coroner's inquests; and Orphan's Court dockets. A list of the Archive's county holdings are on Microfilm or Manuscript form.

Libraries

The Albright Library has a genealogy research room. Their collection includes census records, vital records, newspapers, family surname files, a biographical index to their local history collection, some church records. and Scranton city directories. The library will do research for a fee. The library is housed in its original building built in 1893.

A simple search of a dated name or event $20 - Detailed searches are at the rate of $40 an hour. Postage and photocopies up to $1 are included.[6]

The GRSNP serves northeastern counties:

Lackawanna

Luzerne

Monroe

Pike

Susquehanna

Wayne

Wyoming

There resources include the research center and library, newsletters, and database queries.[7]

Taxation

Vital Records

Vital records are handled by the County Orphans' Court. Between the years 1852-1855 Pennsylvania made a failed attempt to record birth, marriage and death events at the county level. While the records for that time period are available, there were few events recorded. County marriage records were kept in earnest in 1885. Births and deaths, at the county level, were begun in 1893 and kept through 1905. Abstracts and copies of vital records are available for some counties, but most are incomplete. For the most complete set of records, always contact the County Orphans' Court.

Birth

Indexes for Pennsylvania birth records are available through the Department of of Health for 1906 only. Once an individual is located in the index a non certified Birth certificate can be obtained by writing and sending $3.00 to:

1726-1930 - Pennsylvania, Births and Christenings, 1709-1950 - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is an electronic index for the years 1726 to 1930. It is not necessarily intended to index any specific set of records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

Marriage

Pennsylvania marriages are located at the county level. Contact the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Genealogy clerk's office for these records. The clerk's office has marriage records October 1885 to present.

1725-1976 - Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1709-1940 - free index. Not complete for all years. This index is not necessarily intended to index any specific set of records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

Pre-1810 – Pennsylvania Marriages Ancestry.com – ($) This database is incomplete for all counties. Includes 35,000 marriage records from vol. VIII of of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives.

Divorce

Divorce records are available through the office of the Prothonotary. The office of the Prothonotary is located in the courthouse building.

Death

Early deaths 1893–1905 are located at the County Orphans' Court. See the heading Court Records on this page for contact information.

Indexes for Pennsylvania death records are available through the Department of Health for 1906 through 1962. Once an individual is located in the index a non certified death certificate can be obtained obtained by writing and sending $3.00 to: